Portimao WorldSBK: Ten top facts for race weekend

1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) comes from four wins in a row, secured at Laguna Seca and Misano. His only string of five was set last year, with two doubles at Phillip Island and Buriram, followed up with Aragon Race 1.

2. Round numbers for Kawasaki: they recorded their 120th win at Misano Race 2 with Jonathan Rea, which was also their 370th podium finish. They have others at hand as well: they currently hold 79 pole positions and 259 front row starts in qualifying.

3. Rea won his 49th race for Kawasaki at Misano. In WorldSBK history only two riders so far have won 50 or more races with a single manufacturer: Carl Fogarty for Ducati (55) and Troy Bayliss, also for Ducati (52).

4. There are nine different winners out of 18 races held in the Algarve. The only rider who has won more than twice is Jonathan Rea with five. His closest rivals with two wins are: Troy Bayliss, Max Biaggi, Marco Melandri, Eugene Laverty and Tom Sykes.

5. Rea’s podium tally is stunning in Portugal: on 12 occasions out of 18 he finished in the top three. This is more than the double of his best competitor, Sylvain Guintoli with five.

6. Only the current pair of KRT riders have recorded more than one pole in qualifying here: Tom Sykes with three and Jonathan Rea with two. So far there have been six different polesitters out of the nine qualifying sessions held in Portugal.

7. The double win has been recorded by only three riders here: Troy Bayliss in 2008; Max Biaggi in 2010 and Jonathan Rea in 2015 and 2017. They were all crowned champions the same season which saw them record the double in Portugal.

8. Seven different manufacturers have been able to record at least one podium placement in Portugal: Ducati, Honda, Aprilia, Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki, BMW.

9. Great Britain is the most successful country in Portugal, as it has obtained seven wins here with the current Kawasaki duo of Tom Sykes and Jonathan Rea. The couple won the last six races run here.

10. Only one third of the races run at Portimao were won from pole position: six out of 18. In the last four weekends here, only two of them came from pole: Tom Sykes in Race 1, 2014 and Jonathan Rea last year in Race 1.